City marketing: Şanlıurfa province example

In an environment where the importance of borders on the global level has decreased compared to the past, it has become a necessity for cities that compete more with each other to come to the forefront through branding. This need has revealed that cities, which are highly complex products, should not waste their resources in the wrong direction, and that they should reach the right target markets with the right promotion tools by using the right resources with the right actors. Because the product, which includes many intangible and tangible features and is called the city, is much more difficult to configure and present than standard products and services. The control of the city administration over the city product is inflexible, limited. It is appreciated that it is not an easy task for many actors or stakeholders with different interests to be in coherent efforts focused on a single goal and to maintain this. At this point, the existence of some institutions and managers who will lead destination management organizations or destination marketing organizations becomes inevitable. In accordance with the concept of governance, which has emerged by evolving from the form of unilateral management or decision-making from the top to a management approach based on the concept of power sharing, it is important for these actors to manage their common or conflicting interests in line with the general interest of the city in achieving branding goals. For this, field researches that have been or will be done in the field of city marketing, rather than personal opinions, can be a serious starting point and guide in providing primary data. The thesis study aims to make a small but systematic contribution to the efforts made regarding Şanlıurfa, which is among the cities targeted to be branded in the Turkish Tourism Strategy-2023 Document. The research is aimed at learning the views of the local people living in Şanlıurfa and the local visitors who visit Şanlıurfa for various purposes, on the brand value components of Şanlıurfa, with the help of a questionnaire. City Brand Image and City Brand Quality components were found to be effective in the formation of City Brand Satisfaction and Loyalty for both target audiences. Keywords: Destination, City Marketing, City Branding, City Brand Image